Immaculate takes title

Published 1:00 am, Sunday, December 19, 2004

DANBURY - Here is the prevailing message that fans took with them after Saturday night's boys basketball game between Immaculate and Barlow at the O'Neill Center:

Those who didn't attend missed possibly the best game in the five year history of The News-Times Tip Off Classic.

In what evolved into a nail-biter, Immaculate defeated Bethel 51-50 on the strength of
Kendall White
's foul shot with eight seconds remaining.

The
Wildcats
had a shot to win, but a 3-point attempt by
Will Ferguson
fell halfway down and spun out, leaving the Wildcats with an empty feeling as they left the floor.

"I was petrified when he went up to take that shot," Immaculate's Jon Nelson said. "It's usually just like the movies. The ball spins around, it goes in, and everyone rushes the floor. I just didn't want that to happen to us."

Nelson received his wish.

When Ferguson's shot landed harmlessly on the floor, it ensured the Mustangs of their first tournament win.

Nelson garnered Most Valuable Player honors. He scored 17 points against Bethel, 19 points in a first round win over
Joel Barlow
and hit key shots when his team needed them most.

Saturday's game was a prime example to just how important Nelson has become as a senior combo guard.

With his team trailing 50-47 and on the ropes late in the fourth quarter, Nelson hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to tie the score at 50-50.

On Bethel's next trip down the court, David Simone drew a charge on
Clint Kuban
to give the Mustangs the ball with 39.5 seconds remaining.

"David drawing that charge was an extremely important play for us," said Immaculate coach
Bob Nelson
, Jon Nelson's father.

"The Bethel guards had been penetrating the lane all night. In the previous timeout, we challenged somebody to step up on the penetration. David just does so much that doesn't end up in the stat sheet."

Armed with possession, the Mustangs intended to milk the clock for a last second shot. Bethel then took an intentional foul. Up to that point in the half, the Wildcats had committed just five fouls.

It takes seven fouls to put a team in an automatic foul-shooting situation, so Bethel had one to give.

But after another timeout, the Wildcats inexplicably fouled again, sending White to the free throw line.

White's first free throw looked to be too strong, but it caught the backboard and banked in for what proved to be the game-winning point.

White's second foul shot was nullified because of a lane violation.

"We talked about giving a foul in the huddle during the timeout," Bethel coach
Ray Turek
said. "Obviously, fouling at the end wasn't in our gameplan. We wanted to play solid defense, and try to get the game into overtime. It's unfortunate that it happened like that. But you have to give credit to Immaculate. They hit the shot."

Saturday's game didn't figure to go down to the wire. In fact, the Mustangs led most of the way. Immaculate's biggest lead of the night (39-27) came with six minutes remaining in the third quarter after a jumper by White.

The Mustangs had
Mark Cordery
to thank for their big lead. The junior center scored a game-high 18 points. He hit two 3-pointers, posted up well and provided the Mustangs with a consistent interior presence.

"Mark has improved a lot over the summer," the elder Nelson said. "I didn't know that he could shoot that well. But he's been working on his game. It paid off for him tonight."

Bethel had every chance to roll over, but down 44-37 in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to knot the score at 44-44. Bryan Calzone scored all five of his points in the run on the strength of two jumpshots.

From there, it was a race to the finish line. Bethel's Andrew Whitlock drove the lane at will on his way to 12 points. He was instrumental for the Wildcats down the stretch. Chris Kaptein also played well for Bethel, scoring 12 points.

"All I wanted was a chance to win the game," Turek said. "We were in position to do that. We had a good inside-out game tonight. Andrew really stepped up."

NOTES: Cordery made the all-tournament team for Immaculate to go with Nelson's MVP honors...Kaptein and Whitlock were named from Bethel along with
Romano Dickey
(Abbott Tech) and
Chris Stevens
(Joel Barlow).